Are you a mom who's ever felt torn between a successful career and staying home with your kids? Meet Nikki, a healthcare director turned stay-at-home mom, who shares her journey of making the transition, the financial choices she had to make, and how she found joy and purpose in her new venture. But here's the unexpected part – she didn't just stop at being a stay-at-home mom. Nikki dabbles in freelance writing, blogging, creating journals, and even plans to launch a podcast. Are you ready to be inspired by her story and learn how you can pursue your calling while balancing family responsibilities? Stay tuned and discover how you can implement practical financial planning for a career transition, just like Nikki did. This is a conversation you won't want to miss.
"I think sometimes we pray, and then we don't sit to listen to what He's saying. And I think that there's so much value in that, and it can be really hard. It can be really hard to discern the voice of God over your own thoughts and your own desires and things like that. But I really feel strongly that God will lead you where you're supposed to be." ~ Nikki Ciecierski
In this episode, you will be able to:
Want to transition to a career that aligns with your calling? Discover the practical financial planning tips to make it happen and achieve the freedom you desire inside this insightful interview.
Connect with Nikki Ciecierski:
thenikkiproject.com
IG: @nikk
Join me and 15+ other top female entrepreneur experts for the Rise of the Entrepreneur - Navigating the Entrepreneurial Landscape for Female Professionals 5-Day Summit! Click here for more details and to register for this free event!
________________________________
Elevate your 2024 with the Rise of the Entrepreneur – Navigating the Entrepreneurial Landscape for Female Professionals Summit!🌟
For a full 5 days, immerse yourself in cutting-edge training from over 15 leading female entrepreneurs, myself included! 😉
Claim your FREE ticket now Register for the Summit today!
______________________________
Join the Motivated for More Facebook Community
Ready to learn more about YOUR strengths or the Discovering Your Calling Academy?
Book a Coffee & Connect Call
Send me a Direct Message - https://m.me/sheri.miter
Social Media - @SheriMiter
Website - www.sherimiterco.com
Matthew 5:14-16 is the inspiration for this podcast.
Are you a mom who's ever felt torn between a successful career and staying home with your kids? Meet Nikki, a healthcare director turned stay-at-home mom, who shares her journey of making the transition, the financial choices she had to make, and how she found joy and purpose in her new venture. But here's the unexpected part – she didn't just stop at being a stay-at-home mom. Nikki dabbles in freelance writing, blogging, creating journals, and even plans to launch a podcast. Are you ready to be inspired by her story and learn how you can pursue your calling while balancing family responsibilities? Stay tuned and discover how you can implement practical financial planning for a career transition, just like Nikki did. This is a conversation you won't want to miss.
"I think sometimes we pray, and then we don't sit to listen to what He's saying. And I think that there's so much value in that, and it can be really hard. It can be really hard to discern the voice of God over your own thoughts and your own desires and things like that. But I really feel strongly that God will lead you where you're supposed to be." ~ Nikki Ciecierski
In this episode, you will be able to:
Want to transition to a career that aligns with your calling? Discover the practical financial planning tips to make it happen and achieve the freedom you desire inside this insightful interview.
Connect with Nikki Ciecierski:
thenikkiproject.com
IG: @nikk
Join me and 15+ other top female entrepreneur experts for the Rise of the Entrepreneur - Navigating the Entrepreneurial Landscape for Female Professionals 5-Day Summit! Click here for more details and to register for this free event!
________________________________
Elevate your 2024 with the Rise of the Entrepreneur – Navigating the Entrepreneurial Landscape for Female Professionals Summit!🌟
For a full 5 days, immerse yourself in cutting-edge training from over 15 leading female entrepreneurs, myself included! 😉
Claim your FREE ticket now Register for the Summit today!
______________________________
Join the Motivated for More Facebook Community
Ready to learn more about YOUR strengths or the Discovering Your Calling Academy?
Book a Coffee & Connect Call
Send me a Direct Message - https://m.me/sheri.miter
Social Media - @SheriMiter
Website - www.sherimiterco.com
Matthew 5:14-16 is the inspiration for this podcast.
UNEDITED TRANSCRIPT:
00:00:00
If you're a mom and you've ever felt pulled to make a major career decision because of where you feel like God's calling you to be, whether maybe you're ready to walk away from a very profitable and successful career to be a Stayathome mom, or maybe you've been a stayathome mom, but you're feeling pulled to start a new business, whatever it is, if you've felt those nudges as a mom, you are going to love this conversation I had with our guests today because we talked about everything from Nikki's experience of leaving a very successful career to being a stay at home mom. The financial choices her and her husband and family had to make in order to make that feasible to do to her new business of creating journals and a lot of different things that she does, that just filled the passion for her life. So sit back, listen, put the earbuds on, go for a walk. This one's just here for you to take a deep dive, listen, and walk away from whatever fills your heart and maybe journal about it, you'll see why I said that at the end of the podcast.
00:01:12
Welcome to the Discovering your calling podcast. I'm your host, Sheri Miter. I'm here to help you unleash your strengths and get clarity on your calling. I believe when you find your purpose in life, fulfillment, joy and success will follow. If you're ready, pop in those earbuds, hit that follow button and join me on this journey toward discovering your calling.
00:01:36
Before we jump into this conversation with. Nikki, I just want to tell you. A little bit more about her. So Nikki Ciecierski, and I hope I said the name right, is a healthcare director turned stay at home mom. She is a Christ follower, wife and mama to two teens and two toddlers.
00:01:53
Can you even imagine? After working in healthcare for 18 years, she felt a nudge to a pull to stay home and focus on her family. Now she spends her days fulfilling her purpose to her family while expressing her creative side. As a freelance writer, blogger, Etsy shop owner, and journal creator, she stands boldly in the imperfect and she is obsessed with to do list productivity and pens. So listen in as we have this great, insightful conversation with Nikki.
00:02:25
All right, well, welcome to the podcast, Nikki. As we've been chatting a little bit, I'm really just super excited to dive into this conversation because I have a feeling there are some other moms listening to this episode and your story is going to really just impact them and help them in so many different ways. So I'm so grateful for you to take the time to be on the discovering your calling podcast today. Yes, thank you so much. I'm so excited to record this one.
00:02:56
I feel like I was that mom who was stuck somewhere. And so I'm excited to share my story to encourage other moms. Great. Well, let's just go ahead and jump right into your story. And I know you had said you had worked in the healthcare world for 18 years and you just felt that nudge.
00:03:15
So tell us a little bit, like, what were you doing in the healthcare world? And then we'll get into that nudge and what that felt like for you. So I started working in our local hospital. As soon as I graduated from high school, I worked in the radiology file room. I was like hanging x rays for the radiologists and pulling these big, huge jackets that weighed 20 pounds of film.
00:03:41
And I was doing that while I went to school for nuclear medicine. And I was really passionate about being in a field where I could help people. And I really enjoyed the science behind nuclear medicine because it was a lot of mixing our own radioactive material and things like that. So it was super fun in that way for me. And I just felt like, as I was kind of doing nukemed, that I also had these leadership skills that I thought could be useful.
00:04:08
So when an opportunity came up that I was able to go into a management role, that's what I did. And I progressively just climbed the ladder from there. So I went from a manager to a director to a regional director. And when I left healthcare, I was responsible for three hospitals, no, two hospitals. We were building a third, twelve clinics and about 150 employees.
00:04:33
And it was a big job. It was a big, huge job. I didn't have a lot of support under me as far as other leadership members. So I had a lot of direct reports that truly were reporting directly to me. And it was very stressful, very overwhelming, very exhausting most of the time.
00:04:49
I loved it. I loved healthcare. I loved leadership. But we had our third child, so we have four, we have two teens and two toddlers. So we had just had baby number three.
00:05:02
And when I was on maternity leave with him, I originally told my boss, I'm only going to take off six weeks and I'll work six weeks, like part time from home. But it's a big job. I feel like I can't take twelve weeks. And he insisted that I take twelve weeks, right? And at eight weeks, I called him and I was like, mike, I don't want to come back.
00:05:22
He was like, I'm sorry, what?
00:05:25
This baby made me a softie. I don't know that I want to come back to working 50 plus hours a week when I have a baby. And at that point, they weren't teens, but two others. So he had kind of helped me try to find some work from home kind of positions within our organization and within healthcare, and that kind of went on. I did find a role in a different organization.
00:05:50
I transitioned to that, and I just started really feeling this whisper from God saying, these babies are where you're meant to be. Because at the time, I was also pregnant with baby number four. Oh, wow. So our littles are only 15 months apart, and I just really felt this nudge of, like, you're never, ever, ever going to get this time back. You are never going to have these teens in your home again.
00:06:13
You are never going to have these babies in your home again. And this is what you were called to do. This is what your purpose is in this season, is to be present for your family, to prioritize your family. And that's something that, being in the role I was in, I was never really able to do. I was never able to prioritize them because I was drained and exhausted every day that I came home.
00:06:35
I had given so much to my nine to five that I didn't have anything left to give my family. And it wasn't fair to my husband. It wasn't fair to my kids. And so, as I said, I kind of felt God laying on my heart to be a stay at home mom, which I had always said I would never, ever do. I had no desire ever to be a stay at home mom.
00:06:57
And I really just felt that that's what I was being called to in this season, and it was terrifying. I had a very well paying job, and my husband is an entrepreneur, and so he has a lot of flexibility and things like that in his schedule because he's the boss, and it's just him. It's a small business. And after praying about it, we just really felt that we would be able to make it work. We would figure out if this is where God was leading.
00:07:24
We were called to trust him, trust him to provide, trust him to meet all of our needs. And so that's what we did, and I left. Wow. With no plan other than I'm having babies, and it's going to be a good time. Yeah.
00:07:38
So what was the time frame between that? Because it sounds like you already had that kind of thought, like, before you had the baby. Were you thinking, like, I don't know if I want to keep doing this. Besides being exhausted, were you having thoughts. About when I was pregnant with our son, I had no intention of leaving.
00:07:56
I had every intention of going back and continuing to do the work that I had always done. Now there are 14 years between our oldest and our youngest, so we have a big age gap in there. And so when the. I call them the girls, because our older two are just two girls, so I feel like when the girls were little, I didn't have a choice but to work, so I just worked. And that's what I knew how to do.
00:08:20
And I'm a very goal driven person and very leadership minded, task oriented. I like that. So I just thought that with baby number three, it would just be the same thing. Not considering the fact that I am at a different stage in life. I'm older, I have the ability to stay home, and I think being a little bit older, the time and what was important and what was a priority had shifted and changed.
00:08:49
It was no longer that title, that status, that I've climbed the ladder. This is where I'm at in my career. Those things were no longer as important. So I feel like that things had just changed in what my priorities were and what success looked like for me. It wasn't the six figure salary.
00:09:09
It was no longer the title. It was no longer being in a career path. It was being a mom, being present for my family, being present with my babies. And so the timeline of I had him in January of 21, and I completely stopped working in December of 21. Okay, so it took, like a year process of figuring it out and that transition, even though the mindset was there immediately.
00:09:40
Yes. And that's kind of when I had made that decision to shift my last career. It was kind of the same, maybe. I think it was like 18 months for me to figure that out. And I think that's the thing that's important for people to hear, is that it does take some time to figure out all the moving pieces, because there's a lot of moving pieces when you're making a big decision like that.
00:10:04
A big decision like that. And you mentioned that you and your husband kind of figured out how to make it work financially. And I know that is, like, a huge thing. I hear a lot from women and from men is it's the financial piece that they're worried about from can I make it work without my salary to can I make this business viable? And what's the gap look like?
00:10:29
Talk a little bit about that, especially with your husband. Being an entrepreneur, that's a really scary decision to make financially, and not many people can do that now. I've always had that entrepreneurial spirit. I am a high risk taker, so I can do that easily. My husband, probably not so much, though.
00:10:48
He's always blessed. Know, whatever was the priority made me happy. I'm very lucky in that respect, like you are, Nikki. But for a lot of people, that is such a scared thought. How did you work through?
00:11:02
I mean, yes, it was terrifying. And being an entrepreneur, his salary and his income is variable, and it changes. And there are jobs that he can't necessarily take because he's just one guy. So it might be a big payout, but his physical ability to do the job of three guys doesn't work out. So trying to figure out what did that look like was a lot of trusting God.
00:11:34
And that was that entire year. So it would have been like the year of 2022. So my first full year of not working, that was my word of the year, is just trust. If God is calling us to this, it is going to work out. And we had some money saved that we were able to fill the gaps with, but it also looked like I didn't need to drive a $45,000 car anymore.
00:11:58
Okay, what are the practical, what are those things that you had to the decisions, maybe the hard decisions you made financially? Because I think that's so important that there are ways to adjust the standard of living in black and white. Yeah, I mean, that was one of them. I was driving a $45,000 car also with four kids, two of which were being toddlers. So it was like, I'm nervous to drive a $45,000 car anyway because my kids are going to destroy the inside of it.
00:12:26
So looking at, okay, we don't need this $45,000 car. We just need one that has three rows and can fit all six of us. And so we got one that was a little bit older and one that we weren't going to have a payment on. It looked like being more mindful when doing groceries, making a meal plan. So I knew what I was getting at the grocery store and not just buying all of the things that everybody wants.
00:12:52
It looks like going to thrift stores, especially for our littles. And we have an amazing church family that has blessed us so abundantly with clothes and shoes for our babies that I have barely purchased any clothing for our toddler. Just looking for ways that. And then I've also been able to turn around and say, hey, here's an entire tote clothes that you can have because someone blessed me, and I want to bless you with it, too, especially. When they're babies, because they three.
00:13:22
It's a new wardrobe, right? Yes. They've never worn anything out yet, and. They don't wear it. Two and three.
00:13:29
So it was looking at, for our bigger kids, looking at thrift stores and how can we make you guys still feel like you have some say over your style and things like that? But we're not spending $100 on a pair of jeans for you to go back to school. But how can we make those dollars stretch? And a lot of just being more disciplined on what we were buying, what we weren't buying. Looking at subscriptions, like what kind of apps and things like that are we paying for that we don't really need?
00:14:04
We haven't had cable in, gosh, probably 15 years. But looking at the streaming services, like which ones do we actually need versus which ones do we not? And just kind of looking at the big picture of how can we eliminate some of these things and just be more mindful? And I mean, on the flip side, I'm not dressing up for work every single day, so my wardrobe doesn't cost nearly as much as it once did either. Right.
00:14:29
And I'm not spending the money in gas. And I wear the same clothes, like when you're home, nobody else sees you. They don't know, oh, I wore that sweater two days ago, too. Yes.
00:14:42
Five different things. Right. I just need a few good pairs of leggings and some comfy shirts. Exactly. And a couple of nice outfits to wear to church on Sundays.
00:14:53
But it's also being more mindful of vacations and things like that. We are super fortunate that my husband's aunt lives in Virginia, in an island, so they get to go there for a little bit of nothing for vacation and just really looking know, what things do we need versus what do we want? And prioritizing what those things look like. I love all that. I love all that.
00:15:19
And I'm curious, as you're going through that, how did it feel? Did you have that mindset? Because I think the mindset is so important that you can do all that and have the mindset of I hate living in scarcity. I hate being bound to a budget. Or you can take the mindset of, this is awesome.
00:15:39
We are now being really good stewards of what we have. And it can really almost become like this game of how can I be a better steward of the money that God's blessed me with? Right. So which mindset did you have and how did you get there? I still have both.
00:15:56
Okay. I love the answer. Yeah. I still swing on both sides of that fence where there are times where I'm like, I hate that we can't do this, or I hate that we have to be mindful about this. Whenever I was in a position before where we didn't have to worry about some of those things or when, if we wanted it, we got it.
00:16:19
And trying to shift that mindset, not just for myself, but also especially the older girls who have been accustomed to that as well. And looking at, okay, if you want this item, we've got to figure out how to make that work. And so I still sit on that side of the fence sometimes. And I think some of it is just like the fleeting thought in the back of my mind where I know I could get a job tomorrow and that scarcity would be gone, but then I would be being called or pulled out of my purpose and pulled out of my calling. And that is just not something that we're willing to do in this season.
00:16:56
On the flip side of that, we have still been able to get everything that we need. We don't lack for anything that we need. There's still food on the table. For my family, I'm on the sourdough bandwagon, so I'm like making bread all the time, actually, not sourdough, but just homemade bread was one of the first things that I taught myself how to do when I quit working. I was like, I really want to make bread because it's so good.
00:17:23
And so just looking for ways to find the gratitude in it. And like I said, the blessing of these totes of clothes that are given to us. We have everything that we need plus, and if we can't find that plus that extra, then there's something that probably needs to shift in there. I love that. I think it is a lot of sitting in both sides of feeling like, how are we going to make this worth work?
00:17:55
And the scarcity and living in a budget and the fear that comes with that, versus we have everything that we need, and everybody in my household is happy and healthy and it is all working out according to God's plan. Right? And that's really what it comes down to. And it's interesting. I was just listening this afternoon.
00:18:16
I was on somebody else's podcast, and we kind of got on that subject of just the generations of what people's priorities are when it comes to a job and how we went from our grandparents day where I don't think they really even thought about it. They had a job. You went to work, you retired. There wasn't a lot of thought in it. What you did, it was just a job, not necessarily always a career.
00:18:44
And then our parents generation, maybe it shifted a little bit. And then there was the. I feel like I'm right on the cusp of that. I call it the McMansion generation of the expensive cars, the expensive houses, the large salaries, all the stuff. And then the generation now of prioritizing, of I want a job that's fulfilling, that makes an impact, that makes a difference, but I don't need stuff.
00:19:11
The tiny houses are. That's why the tiny people want tiny house over a McMansion today. And I see that a lot with, especially my younger son, how they prioritize. Travel is very important to them. That's a priority, but they live a great life, but they've prioritized down.
00:19:30
He finds free stuff all the. Yeah. Or buys off of Facebook marketplace. He rarely buys anything new, and if he does, it drives him crazy. But they eat really healthy food and experiences are very.
00:19:46
That's their priority. But then they take their baby with them. And it's just so interesting to me to see that. And I think it's such a healthier way to. Yeah, I feel like I was just talking to a friend where she also was in a director role in the same healthcare organization.
00:20:05
And we were just talking about how we have kind of grown up thinking that you have to be, especially a woman and having a career and a successful career, that having to look like this perpetual cycle of exhaustion and stress and more responsibility to kind of prove yourself and prove that you're worth that title, you're worth that salary, which is still less than what the men make, but that you're worth that salary, it's no wonder that we're chronically exhausted and stressed out and trying to figure out how to just keep our heads above water. Like you said, it's like this generation of, we set the bar up here and then we're just trying to continue to be there. Right. It's such an unrealistic bar. That's just exhausting.
00:20:56
And I think, again, I definitely see this shift happening, which is so good of it. Used to be you wore your busy badge like a badge of honor. I'm so busy. I'm so busy meant look at me succeeding because I'm so busy.
00:21:15
And that's why I think so many women, especially, again, have chronic health issues, too, because I always say that, okay? That's manifesting somewhere inside you if you're not getting it out, the frustrations, the tired, all the emotions, a lot of that is the chronic health things. So I just applaud you, Nikki, just for taking that bold step. Know, a hard, bold step to say, no. This is where I'm being called to be, and this is where I need to be and how can we make this work?
00:21:46
And you figured out all the things that needed to happen to make that shift. I want to go back. You said something in the beginning of the conversation about that you were, and I don't remember your exact words, about just being goal oriented and you love to achieve things and lead people. So how have you made that part of you content in this period of being a mom? Yeah.
00:22:12
I think I would start with saying I have found so much joy in staying home that I never, ever thought was possible because I never wanted to do it. I never wanted to be a stay at home mom. But there's so much joy, and we find so many small things to be joyful for throughout the day. However, when our youngest, our fourth, was just a few months old, I had reached out to a friend and I started doing freelance writing. And so I interviewed dozens of entrepreneurs and I wrote their stories.
00:22:44
And in that, I kind of was like, okay, well, maybe I can have a business. Maybe that's what I need so that my mind isn't just idle and I can be working towards something. So I kind of dabble in a lot of things. I still am a freelance writer, and right now I've got this perfect mashup of my clients are almost all healthcare, so I get to write healthcare articles. So I have a master's degree in Sheri Miter Co and some other degrees in nuke med and radiology and whatnot.
00:23:14
So I get to use some of that head knowledge that I have. I've always enjoyed writing, so I have been able to kind of mash those two together. So I do freelance writing and I do some social media management and just some editing kind of things with blogs and whatnot. And then I also have created journals. So I've published journals.
00:23:36
I dabble in some things on etsy. I've decided that evidently I love to do watercolor and make cards and whatnot and some digital products that I will be using for my kids, like educational stuff, because I'm like my big kids. I sent to daycare. So how do I teach my kids? Because I didn't have to do this daycare, did it with my older kids.
00:23:58
So I'm doing some of that. And I also am super passionate about workflow optimization and automation and efficiency and things like that. So I do some strategy stuff with people around just their daily workflow in either their role in their organization or in their businesses. So I dabble in a lot of things and I thoroughly enjoy it. But probably writing wise, I love writing my own blog because I get to share my story and I get to kind of share here are things that I found are super beneficial or as a mom, don't be discouraged because it's not always sunshine and rainbows.
00:24:42
And that's okay.
00:24:47
Now I do things that I find joy in. So I find joy in writing my blog. I find joy in writing healthcare articles. I find joy in helping other women with their social media stuff that they don't necessarily love to do. I find joy in those things.
00:25:04
And so that's kind of where I let my organization and my leadership and my desire for being, working towards goals, I kind of let that take over that part of my life. I love that. And I like that you have just embraced, like, I like all these things and I'm just going to do all these things because so many times we hear the gurus out there, you have to niche down. You have to find your one thing, what's the one offer you have and stay in this space. And that works for a lot of people.
00:25:37
And I get the thought behind that. Right. But sometimes that can feel very boxed. In for some of what you can monetize doesn't necessarily line up with what you're passionate about. Right.
00:25:50
And so then you could be in the same rut of, I'm doing this because I need to make money, but I'm not passionate about it. So it's really just as draining as working a nine to five somewhere. Exactly. I love that. I can so imagine how that feels is like some people may like, wait, she's doing this, she's doing that, she's doing that.
00:26:07
But sometimes that just is how we work best for now. Yeah, I feel like some of it is out of like, okay, what's another way for us to have an extra stream of income that isn't necessarily going to take me physically doing something because I am first and foremost a mom. And so my other things fit into the pockets of time that I have, like when babies are napping or before everybody wakes up. And so from a freelance writing perspective, there's only so many hours I have in a week to write. So that income stream is capped at what hours I have available, whereas some of the other things, once I create it, it's created.
00:26:50
And one of my 2024 goals is to launch a podcast. So that's probably down the road here in 2024 things as well. Because I think that, above all, I am super passionate about just encouraging women and helping women realize that where you are right now isn't where you're stuck. And it doesn't matter how old you are, it doesn't matter what your career, what your degree, whatever, that you have the ability to do whatever brings you joy. So in the meantime, I just dabble in all of the things because they bring me joy.
00:27:30
Right. And that shows through, like, in what you're doing. And I want to talk a little bit because one of the things you have created, that once it's created, like you said, it's out there, are your journals. So talk a little bit about how one. How did you get to that place of creating journals?
00:27:46
Because as I shared earlier with you, I am a journal junkie. That was the one thing living on a boat. I had to stop buying journals, and I'm not on a boat anymore. So now you can buy all. I can buy another journal.
00:27:59
Yeah. So I started journaling when I was a teenager. My dad died when I was 14, and I didn't know how to share how I felt about any of it, didn't necessarily have anybody to talk to. So I started journaling. And I felt so much relief in knowing that I could get what was in here out, and it didn't matter what it sounded like or anything because nobody was going to read it.
00:28:30
Nobody was going to see how I felt. I wasn't going to upset my mom or hurt my mom's feelings based on what I wrote. And so that's kind of how I started journaling. And through my teen years and my 20 years, it was kind of up and down and all over the place. And I would say probably seven or eight years ago, I started focusing a little bit more on trying to be more intentional about journaling.
00:28:52
And then within the last three years, to the point of consistently journaling every single day, and I have been at the point where you're sitting there with a blank page and you're like, I know I'm supposed to journal, but I don't really know what I'm supposed to write because I feel like sometimes as a writer or as a creative thinker, you're not necessarily sure where to start because there needs to be a plan, or at least that's me I guess I should say I'm a plan person. What's the plan? What am I trying to get out and why? So I have always found that if I start with a prompt or a guided journal, that I'm much more efficient at it because I'm not just spending 20 minutes thinking like, well, what am I supposed to write about? There's a prompt there that says, hey, this is what you're writing next.
00:29:39
So for almost an entire year, I handwrote prompts out in a journal every day. Through that time, I kind of shifted and changed the order in which I wrote things, but it was the same basic sections every time until I got to the point where I'm like, okay, I'm just going to create a journal and publish it on Amazon. And that way I can buy it and I don't have to rewrite these things every day. So that's what I did. And I created it super simple.
00:30:12
I created it in canva, and then I published it on Amazon KDP. And so I have, like, my, these are two of my journals. This one, it doesn't normally have this on it. I just added a sticker to I have, this is what I call my morning pages journal. And so it has the sections of what is my intention today?
00:30:36
Bible time. So whether that's just reading the Bible or doing a devotion plan and kind of like my thoughts about that, and then I leave a section for prayer. I spent some of my years journaling where it was just my prayers. That's all it was, was my prayer. And I just think I love that.
00:30:52
And I think it is so beautiful to be able to go back a year ago or two years ago and see what was I praying for and how has God come through? It's always amazing, isn't it? Yeah. My husband and I experienced two miscarriages. And so I recently reflected back on that because I was walking through a miscarriage with someone who had never gone through it before.
00:31:15
And I know my story. I know my story is that we had two babies. She doesn't know her story yet. And so I was able to go back and look at the, like I said, kind of that raw, unfiltered emotion of what did it feel like? Because just like anything else, as you get removed from it, you kind of forget what did it feel like?
00:31:35
And so I was able to go back and reflect on what did that feel like going through that and how did I pray and how did I remain faithful that God was going to keep his promise that we would have a baby. And like I said, I know my story ended in two babies that were perfectly beautiful and healthy and just trying to encourage her through that. So I love being able to pray and see it written down, number one, because how many times do we pray in our head and we're distracted by 1000 other things of, I forgot to do that. Oh, I need to make sure I get this at the grocery store or whatever. So writing it helps me focus and then being able to reflect back on it.
00:32:13
But anyway, so after the prayer that I have at least three things that I'm grateful for. And I don't just do a list, I like to write why I'm grateful for it because I used to keep that just in a calendar, and then I found myself going, I wonder why I was so grateful for my mother in law this month. Well, I don't know, because I didn't write it down. I just wrote that I was grateful for. Right.
00:32:31
And then I wrote, how's my heart today? So, looking at how am I actually feeling? And I'm not somebody who really is very good at emotions. So I actually have this in my journal I printed out. Have you heard of the feelings wheel?
00:32:44
I don't think so, no. So it helps you identify actual feeling words. So instead of just happy, are you thankful? Are you feeling valued, accepted, proud, whatever the actual feeling is, instead of just under an umbrella. So I have this so that I can help myself really dig into what is that feeling?
00:33:05
And then I have a daily discovery where it's like, what's something new I learned or something I definitely want to remember. And sometimes it's something super silly, and sometimes it's something that's like, this was my favorite part of today, and it was that me and the kids dyed rice and we played with colored rice and made a total mess in the house or whatever. And then I have a section for an actual written out journal prompt. So sometimes there's something silly of, just, like, what's your favorite color? Other times it might be, what's a skill or hobby that you want to learn or.
00:33:39
I actually have two sets of 366 journal prompts that I have put together. That way, there's one for every day, including leap year, that it's available. And so I just go through that, and that's what I write in that section. And then I have. My last section is just like a brain dump of what are the other things that are happening up here that I need to get out?
00:33:59
And sometimes that's working through a problem. Sometimes it's just like I need a place for my to do list or the things I don't want to forget today. Sometimes, actually, I really love hand lettering, so sometimes I'll use that space to hand letter, like a Bible verse. But so even though it's like a guided journal, I use it very just how I'm feeling that day. And that's kind of how each section plays out.
00:34:22
But it's been so helpful having it already written that I don't have to rewrite the sections and that they're just there. I love that. So all of that is for one day? Yeah, but it only takes maybe ten or 15 minutes because it's three pages, but each section is fairly small. And sometimes the brain dump page doesn't happen.
00:34:44
Right. And that's okay. And that's something I've had to get used to because I'm very much a routine scheduled person. It sounds like my husband should be done. You can doodle, right?
00:34:55
Just doodle, draw a picture. Absolutely. Whatever your heart desires in that moment. So it is three pages, but it goes fairly quickly because I know what. To expect every day right now.
00:35:10
I love that because I like how you included your morning routine, but also an evening. And that's where, for myself, I have a great morning routine. Though I haven't been doing as much journaling because, again, I haven't been able to buy new journals as much. But I've totally lost. I actually started it last night, writing an evening closing.
00:35:31
What was the best thing? Those kind of things that I think are so important so that you go to not just set the day up, but you want to go to bed with a peaceful heart, too, hopefully. And writing about that and being grateful, I love that you included that in there. So if anybody's interested in looking at. And they're beautiful covers, that was going to be my next.
00:35:53
I wasn't sure if you had, like, that was part of your watercolors that you designed them with watercolors or. No, I just kind of found things on canva and then kind of pieced things together. So each type of journal has a different kind of COVID And I don't know that I have. I may have one of each here. The morning pages ones are the ones that are kind of more of an abstract kind of COVID I love those.
00:36:17
And then I have this one is a line journal. So it is kind of like this geometric shape kind of thing. And I just threw some shapes together, changed the colors, add some gradient, and then my dotted journals are this kind of a geometric with a texture. And then I have the one page a day one which is a little bit more concise for those people that aren't quite ready for three pages a day. It has space for a journal, prompt, an affirmation, an intention, and an action.
00:36:48
How are you going to live out what your intentions are for the day? And those ones are like a floral cover. And so those are all kind of the same smaller size. And then I have some bigger ones that are more of like a notebook kind of a thing. And so this is one that I made stickers, but I just wrote different phrases and looked like stickers on the journal.
00:37:09
And then I have another one that's just kind of plain, which I don't have an example of. I kind of just looked at what do I normally look for and what do I normally buy in a journal? And then I'm going to create that. And so that's what I did. And I mentioned earlier, not on the podcast, but I mentioned to you before we got started, I'm in the process of creating a prayer journal for kids.
00:37:30
So looking at how mom or how mom and or dad are praying for the kids throughout their life. And so what I've started doing for my research and development phase is I have a journal for each of my kids, and I typically write in it every month. So I don't do it daily or anything like that. I try to write it in it every month. And my thought process behind it is how beautiful will it be when they become an adult to say, look, this is how I've interceded and prayed for you your entire life.
00:38:00
You remember when you were going through that? This is how I was praying, or how I've prayed for your future. I've prayed for your future spouse and your future kids and my grandkids and all these things. And like I said earlier, I love written prayer. And so to be able to have that to then hand to my kids when they're older and for them to just see my words and my heart pouring out for them is just something I'm really passionate about.
00:38:30
And I'm super excited for these ones. And I feel like I'm getting emotional now. I love that so much in actor. I'm thinking, like, okay, I'm going to start that. I'm glad you said once a month.
00:38:37
I'm thinking, how would that work? I have six grandkids and I'm thinking, oh, that would be so awesome to do that for the grandkids because I missed the opportunity to do it for my boys. Not sure. Some of the prayers may have not have been. And that's.
00:38:51
Some of my prayers right now are like, please help my daughter kill you and be more respectful. You lived another day. Yes. God interceded. Yes.
00:39:03
But to do that for the grandkids. But I was just thinking, like, how would I do that? Six? Would that be once every day? What I normally do is once a month.
00:39:12
Sounds manageable. What I normally do is each kid, I do them in chronological order, and I just do it a day. So the first day of the month, I do my oldest. The second day of the month, my second. Okay.
00:39:23
And I just do the first four days of the month are just, like, an extra time of prayer, and then they're done for the month, and then I don't pull them out again until the following month. I like that. Okay. That's manageable. Yeah.
00:39:34
And so that journal I'm working on, I had mentioned I have the journal prompts for just anybody who wants them. But then in the kids, like, the prayer journal, I've devised, like, 200 and some ideas or ways to pray for your kids, because I feel like sometimes you can be so stuck in just, like, praying the same thing. So I'm going to put in the front of the journal of, like, here are just some ideas of how to pray for your kids in the now and beyond in what's going on right now, but what do the next five or ten years look like or whatever. And beyond that and praying for careers and being able to stand strong in their faith while they're in a workforce that may not be Christ centered and just kind of different things like that. So I'm also adding that into that journal.
00:40:25
If you are in that state of, like, gosh, I don't even know what to pray for. Other than that we survive another day. Right? Yes. I really love that idea.
00:40:35
Have you thought about doing one for kids, like a journal for kids? Yes. I have this whole list of journals I'd like to create. My one daughter and I have kind of. We've done a back and forth journal a few times.
00:40:48
It's probably been a year or two since we've gone over it or done anything in it, and that was kind of fun because she knew that that would be, like, uninterrupted time that I would be able to connect with her through written words. I have four kids, and so we have a big family, and so sometimes that connection time is a little bit hard. So I would be able to connect with her in that if we didn't have the physical time to be together at the same time. I've talked to both of my teens about if you could journal, what do you want that to look like?
00:41:23
What would help you? What would help you be consistent with it? Because there's so many benefits to journaling. And I laughed because I recently listened to your podcast about journaling and you were like, you remember when you had the lock on your diary? It's not quite that, but it was, right?
00:41:42
Yeah, absolutely. There are some really heavy things that our kids go through that they may not want to talk to us about. So that is definitely on my list of journals I would like to create is one for kids and teens. Be nice that maybe the daughters can help design that. I mean, what a cool thing.
00:42:01
Yes. And that's kind of my plan. Yeah. So as we wrap up here, Nikki and I love where the conversation, and there's been so many, I think, nuggets that people can get from it. Just being able to make that bold decision again that we talked about, how to get your finances in order to be able to make it feasible, if you're feeling called to, like, I just want to be home with my babies right now and figure things out to being okay with, like, hey, just dabble in what gives you joy and use your gifts.
00:42:34
I mean, you are truly using your gifts in so many ways to share with others, to journaling, all the things. But one last question for you would be for that woman who is listening. And I know we kind of already talked a little bit about this, but just as we close, and maybe she has been praying, maybe she has been thinking, like, I know I need to make a change, but I'm just worried. I'm scared. What words could you leave her with today?
00:43:00
I would say for sure pray, if you haven't already, pray also. Seek counsel. Seek wiser counsel than yourself. I spoke with my pastor's wife, who is a dear friend of mine, because she's been a stay at home mom for a long time. I was like, how do I make this work?
00:43:17
How do I manage this? If it is a concern of, like, I don't know that we can financially do it. Look for ways that you can make money in the cracks of your day. Look for something that you can help somebody with. Look for those opportunities that don't take time away from you being home, that you can supplement your income.
00:43:40
But I would say, above all, pray. And next, listen to what God is telling you. Because I think sometimes we pray and then we don't sit to listen to what he's saying. And I think that there's so much value in that, and it can be really hard. It can be really hard to discern the voice of God over your own thoughts and your own desires and things like that.
00:44:06
But I really feel strongly that God will lead you where you're supposed to be. And I also believe that if you are meant to do something, nothing you can do is going to stop God from making it happen and to just completely trust that even when it's scary, step out in faith, even when you're not sure how it can possibly turn out. If we had time, I could tell you so many stories of how we didn't think things were going to turn out, and they did, and it was because we just trusted God's serenity or God's sovereignty and knowing that he was going to provide for us. I love that so much. Yeah, that's all you can do is trust.
00:44:50
And I think, too, that's where journaling is nice, because sometimes it's in the journaling that we start to really sense what is God telling me, and is that we say, I would love a neon sign sometimes that this is God's voice. Yes. And not my voice, or this is my voice, not God's voice, then to discern the difference, but the journaling a lot, I find that is where I am able to kind of sort through what is my voice versus his voice, for sure. I think I also would just say one more thing of like, if you're a mom who isn't called to stay home, if you're a mom that needs to work or wants to work, that's okay. I feel like there's this constant tension between working moms and stay at home moms.
00:45:36
And I have been both. And I have caught myself so many times saying, I'm just a stay at home mom. You are so much more than that. And also, if you're a working mom, you are carrying a ton. And so I think that there is just so much beauty and mutual respect for both sides of that and that it's okay to be on either side.
00:45:59
It's okay to be a working mom, and it's okay to be a stay at home mom 100%.
00:46:06
At the same time, if you're a stay at home mom and you're ready to work, do that. And I think it's, again, going back to those things of like, where is God calling you and what are you passionate about and what's going to bring you joy and then just standing in that imperfection, because it's not going to be perfect. No, it never is. No matter what it is. Yes.
00:46:24
And I love that because it is. What are you called to do in this season? And the seasons will change. Yes. They're always changing.
00:46:35
So the season today, it will look different. There's no doubt it looks different, especially if you are a mom. No matter what the age, in five years, it's going to look different. In ten years, it's going to look different than that. And then you go through the season, and now we're at a different season where we thought, okay, our kids are grown, but now we have grandkids.
00:46:53
So that brings a whole different season now into our lives. But it's just discerning where are you called to be right now in this season and embrace it and what makes you feel whole and alive? Because whether you are a work from home mom, a stay at home mom, or a working out of the house mom, if you're happy and fulfilled, you will show up better for your family, no matter which way that is. And that's the important thing. Yes, 100%.
00:47:25
Well, Nikki, I know we could talk on and on and on. This has been a pleasure to spend time with you, get to know you a little bit more. We may have to have you back on to share some of those stories of hope. Yeah. And if somebody wants to connect with you and or find your journals and some of the other things you do, read your blog, where's the best place for them to go?
00:47:49
I would say if you go to my website, which is thenickyproject.com, which I. Love that name by the. Well, you know, it's like the culmination of all of the things. So I was not boxed into one thing. So you can go there.
00:48:02
You can get my blog there. There's a link on there for my journals. I mean, you can find them on Amazon, but because there are thousands and thousands and thousands of journals, you have to be pretty specific when you're searching. So there's a link there that you can go right to them. And then I am most present on Instagram, which is at Nikki Ciecierski, and I do these unscripted morning walk talks, which I try to be super encouraging, and I just kind of think of an idea and that's what I talk about.
00:48:31
So I have those on there as well. All right, very cool. Well, I may have to go. I'm not on Instagram a lot now. I may have to go back, follow, so.
00:48:39
But check out her journals for sure and very reasonably priced. Very reasonably priced. I'll be grabbing some myself. So Nikki, thank you again for being on the discovering your calling podcast and look forward to staying connected. Thank you so much for having me.
00:48:54
It's been so fun. Thank you for spending this time with me. My hope is something you heard today inspires you to take action toward discovering your calling. I just have two favors to ask of you before you go. One, if you found value and enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and you might hear your review read on a future episode.
00:49:17
And two, can you share this episode with three friends who will also enjoy it as much as you did? By doing these things you will help us grow the podcast to make a bigger impact on the world. And until next week, remember you've been created to live a life of fulfillment, freedom, purpose, success, us and joy.